19 Jan 2012

The 7 Stages of Banker's Grief - Europe on the Brink of Psychosis

It is looking like the greek government may not be able to pay its bills in march as Athens is trying to renegotiate it's bonds with investors who may need to take an even larger haircut than originally envisioned. In addition, labor unions are negotiating on proposed labor cost cutting. So how will this greek tragedy play out? No one seems to have any idea, so what does this mess tell us about the sanity of those who claim to be in control of this crazy economic world we're living in? Are technocrats and european leaders just trying to force a bankrupt ideology down the throat of insolvent governments for the benefit of a small clique of bankrupt european banks? Maybe bankers and politicians need psychotherapy and not a haircut? Well, to answer these questions, we turn to Yanis Varoufakis, Greek Economist and author of "the global minotaur: America, the true origins of the financial crisis and the future of the world economy." He will also speak to us about the LTRO, and the way that it has been used to fund banks as opposed to the sovereign governments that were meant to benefit from the scheme. And, a ban on proprietary trading for big banks was debated in congress today -- it's known as the "volcker rule," and its part of the dodd-frank legislation passed in 2010. Lobbyists and some big bank executives have come out against it. We'll break down what's really at stake. And finally, as US president barack obama has been out pushing "insourcing" with his jobs council...just as a new report comes out showing at least one of the very corporations represented on that council is outsourcing more jobs and R&D to Asia. What is the deal -- we'll hash it out. Source